The Archive

IN THIS EDITION

Harris triggers Trump — and it unraveled from there

Johnson says he’s certain Republicans will sweep in 2024

NRSC sounds alarm on digital fundraising

News: CLF releases swing-district ads

What you missed on primary night

THE TOP

Harris triggers Trump — and it unraveled from there

Happy Wednesday morning.

Vice President Kamala Harris got under former President Donald Trump’s skin very early during Tuesday night’s presidential debate in Philadelphia. And from that moment on, there was no turning back.

Harris hit Trump where she clearly knew it would hurt — his crowd sizes are small, the military doesn’t respect him and world leaders mock the former president. Trump was so frustrated at one point that he even suggested Harris return to Washington to sign an imaginary bill to close the U.S.-Mexico border because the former president thought they were “wasting a lot of time” at the debate.

By the end, Trump’s supporters were complaining about ABC News’ handling of the debate, including fact-checks of the former president. Which tells you a lot about how they thought it went. For the record, Trump spoke for more than five minutes longer than Harris, per the New York Times, although only he was fact-checked by ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis.

The reality is, Tuesday night’s debate couldn’t have gone better for Harris. The vice president went head-to-head with Trump and came out on top. She kept baiting him, and Trump kept swallowing the hook. This is why Harris’ campaign has already put out the word that they want another debate. Trump — who went to the spin room in the National Constitution Center following the intense 90-minute session, never a good sign — ducked the question.

As the debate wore on, Trump became more unfocused. He can get away with that at rallies but not when debating someone as skilled as Harris. At one point, Trump even stooped to using a completely unverified online report about Haitian immigrants eating dogs in Springfield, Ohio. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Trump’s running mate, repeated this in the spin room afterward as well, but CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pushed back hard.

Trump hurt himself in other ways too. The former president refused to admit that he lost the 2020 election, reversing himself from just a week ago. Trump wouldn’t say he wants Ukraine to win the war against Russia (more below). Trump again falsely tried to blame former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for the Jan. 6 insurrection. When asked about what he would replace Obamacare with after nine years of bashing it, Trump said he has “concepts of a plan.” The Harris campaign is already using this against Trump.

Yet Trump scored his own important points against Harris. These shouldn’t be underestimated.

Trump repeatedly battered Harris over the “border czar” tag and the millions of undocumented immigrants that have entered the United States during her time in office. Harris ducked an opening question on inflation — a huge issue — and the two clashed over whether Trump’s push for dramatically higher tariffs on imports is a tax increase on U.S. consumers.

Trump’s closing also had the core of a very powerful attack. If Harris had all these good ideas for helping average Americans, why hasn’t she been able to implement them during the last three-and-a-half years?

Yet it’s difficult to make the case that these punches landed during Trump’s uneven performance.

Harris hit back several times when Trump referred to Biden as “her boss,” but it’s a good dig. Biden remains unpopular even though his poll numbers have gone up. Whatever Trump can do to tie them together is a good tactic.

The real question here, of course, is will it matter? The answer — yes. Will it decide the election? By itself, no.

But in a race this close, everything matters. Neither Harris nor Trump landed a knockout blow. Or got knocked out by themself, like Biden did in his debate with Trump.

Foreign policy: If you’re a Republican national security hawk, your head was probably spinning last night.

When asked whether he wants Ukraine to win its war against Russia, Trump ducked the question, instead saying: “I want the war to stop. I want to save lives.”

Trump has long teased this approach, which would inevitably lead to Kyiv ceding territory to Moscow. Ukrainian leaders have rejected this proposal.

Harris also provoked a bizarre but revealing response from Trump when she said world leaders “laugh” at him and think he’s a “disgrace.” An angry Trump immediately brought up Viktor Orbán, the authoritarian leader of Hungary, as an example of someone who likes him. Top Hill Republicans have repeatedly said Orbán is a dangerous leader and urged members of their party, including Trump, to stop idolizing him.

Joe Wilson: South Carolina GOP Rep. Joe Wilson had a scary moment Tuesday night during an event at Ukraine House in Northwest D.C. The 77-year-old Wilson collapsed on the floor and later was rushed to the hospital. Wilson’s son, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, said in a post on X.com that “Doctors confirmed to us he has experienced stroke-like symptoms.” The younger Wilson said he had spoken with his father, who “is stable and being monitored by medical professionals.” Joe Wilson has been a House member since 2001.

– John Bresnahan, Jake Sherman and Andrew Desiderio

Join us tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference! Punchbowl News HQ, our “Punch Up” activation in partnership with Chime, will be located just steps away from the Convention Center.

This exciting event will feature can’t-miss editorial conversations on financial access and digital banking, including a one-on-one interview with New York Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, great networking, activations, music and delicious food and drinks. Learn more about the event and RSVP.

THE SPEAKER

Johnson says he’s certain Republicans will sweep in 2024

Speaker Mike Johnson told us that he is “absolutely convinced” that Republicans will expand their majority in the House, win the Senate and former President Donald Trump will be back in the White House.

Absolutely convinced. Without a doubt.

Part of this may be bluster. The sort of rhetoric any party leader uses less than two months before an election.

But Johnson says it with such conviction that it’s clear he actually believes Republicans are on the march in 2024:

Of course, the truth is a bit more complex. House Republicans are in a dogfight to retain their troubled four-seat majority. Republicans look like they will take the Senate but it won’t be a large majority. And the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump is indeed a dead heat. Who’s winning depends on which polls you read each day.

But it’s incumbent on Johnson to remain sunny amid the storm.

The mood in the House GOP is cautiously hopeful. Republicans feel as if they have good candidates and a winning message. But the gnawing sense is that they don’t have enough cash to compete with Democrats.

Johnson is aware of the complaints and counters by saying Democrats usually outraise Republicans. The DCCC has $92 million in the bank as of July 31, compared to the NRCC, which has just over $73 million.

“We are working around the clock to fill the coffers and we are,” Johnson said. “The donors are very motivated, and many people who I thought had maxed out have come back and said, ‘We’ll do more.’ There’s no question that putting Kamala Harris at the top of the Democrat ticket fueled their fundraising. But we’re not deterred by that at all.”

Johnson has a lot on his hands right now. There’s a very real prospect that his government funding proposal, which pairs six months of spending authority with the SAVE Act, could easily fail on the floor today. This would be a tough outcome for the speaker, who has said he has no fallback option with funding 19 days from expiration.

But on the other side of the funding debate, Johnson has an agenda lined up aimed at dividing Democrats and unifying Republicans.

“The way I say it is that we’re going to highlight the contrast between our positive Republican agenda and the disastrous Biden-Harris record,” Johnson said. “So this is not gotcha politics. This is just illustrating the facts.”

— Jake Sherman

2024 WATCH

NRSC sounds alarm on digital fundraising

The NRSC is warning candidates and incumbent GOP senators about the party’s fundraising woes in more ways than one.

An internal NRSC document we obtained shows a ranking of candidates and incumbents based on how much they’ve raised for other GOP campaigns through their digital fundraising — a process known as conduiting. The idea is to immediately display a “call to action” for other candidates and incumbents after someone donates to a campaign.

The document, which was distributed recently to senators and candidates, also contains a number of “recommended action items” to help close the money gap with Democrats, who are raising millions more than Republicans through the DSCC, super PACs and the campaigns themselves.

“Nearly every Democrat Senator is ‘split sending’ for other Senators & candidates AND sending on their own email/text house files,” the memo reads. “We do not do enough of this on our side of the aisle.”

More:

The memo was intended for internal use only, with the goal of informing senators and candidates about their digital fundraising operations and comparing them to other challengers and incumbents. The NRSC declined to comment.

Other action items include signing emails and text messages for GOP challengers, who are “not as well known to the GOP donor base so having a sitting Senator make the case for them why it is important to retake the majority helps.”

The leaders: Tim Sheehy, the Montana Republican challenging Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), is far-and-away the leader in the conduit category, with $514,615 raised for other candidates through the conduiting process. In a distant second place is Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who isn’t even on the ballot this year, with $226,578 raised for other candidates.

The NRSC’s pitch for adding the “call to action” for other candidates to their digital fundraising pages boils down to this: It costs you nothing, and it creates new revenue streams for other campaigns at a time when Democrats are out-raising and out-spending Republicans.

The dire fundraising situation led to the NRSC’s executive director speaking out publicly last week, saying the party will “lose winnable races” if they can’t close the gap more quickly. In fact, during a closed-door Senate GOP lunch at NRSC headquarters on Tuesday, that was exactly the message from NRSC Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.).

We scooped on Tuesday that Senate Minority Whip John Thune, who’s running to succeed Mitch McConnell as GOP leader, announced during the meeting that he’s transferring $4 million to the NRSC from his personal campaign account. It’s the largest such transfer in NRSC history.

— Andrew Desiderio

THE CAMPAIGN

News: CLF releases swing-district ads

First in Punchbowl News: The Congressional Leadership Fund, the top House Republican super PAC, is launching a host of new ads in top House races.

CLF is slamming Reps. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) and Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.), along with Arizona candidate Kirsten Engel, on immigration themes. The ads argue the Democrats are “too extreme” to confront the border crisis.

In California’s 22nd District, currently represented by Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), CLF is attacking Democrat Rudy Salas as a “desperate” repeat candidate who wants to raise taxes.

In Oregon’s 5th District, CLF is going after Democrat Janelle Bynum as a “dishonest Portland politician” who was on the wrong side of Oregon’s push to decriminalize drugs.

In New York’s 17th District, a CLF ad hits Democrat Mondaire Jones for his past left-wing issue positions and connects him to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). In two other New York races, CLF is attacking Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) for marching in a Black Lives Matter rally and Josh Riley for close ties to China.

CLF is portraying Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) as a failed career politician who isn’t effective any longer in Ohio’s 9th District.

In another ad going after a Trump-district Democrat, a CLF dog sledding-themed spot says Alaska Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola has made the state “less safe and more expensive.”

Earlier this month, we reported on CLF placing $16 million in ad reservations. That comes on top of their initial $141 million ad reservation.

CA-41 update: Defending Main Street, the super PAC aligned with the pragmatic Republican Main Street Partnership, is launching a $200,000 ad buy boosting Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) in the competitive 41st District.

The GOP PAC is running an ad and sending a corresponding mailer hitting Democrat Will Rollins on public safety and border policy. The Defending Main Street messaging features the Riverside County sheriff bashing Rollins as a candidate who won’t keep residents safe.

Rollins, for what it’s worth, has backed the bipartisan border security bill negotiated by the Senate.

CLF is also including Rollins in their new ad buy with a spot tying the Democrat to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Money game: Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) raised over $260,000 for Frontliners during a Sept. 10 Equality PAC event.

— Max Cohen

What you missed on primary night

Here’s what you missed from primary night if you were focused on the presidential debate.

Goodlander beats Van Ostern in race to succeed Kuster.

Maggie Goodlander, a former Biden White House official, won the Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s 2nd District. Goodlander defeated local official Colin Van Ostern, who was endorsed by retiring Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.). The primary had turned contentious as candidates traded barbs about New Hampshire residency, abortion rights and outside spending.

McBride set to become first transgender member of Congress.

State Sen. Sarah McBride won the Democratic primary in Delaware’s at-large House seat, paving the way to become the first transgender member of Congress. In deep-blue Delaware, winning the Democratic primary is the real challenge and McBride easily advanced to the general to replace Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.).

Blunt Rochester is also set to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). LBR didn’t face a Democratic primary opponent on Tuesday.

— Max Cohen

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CLIPS